The WTO and India's Pharmaceuticals Industry: Patent Protection, TRIPS, and Developing Countries

The establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 brought about significant changes in international economic relations between countries. To comply with the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement of the WTO, India introduced product patent protection in pharmaceuticals from January 2005. TRIPS has generated a huge controversy in India and abroad. India has emerged as a major source of low-cost, quality drugs for the entire world and thus plays an important role.While there are a large number of pharmaceutical manufacturers in the world, only a handful of multinationals dominate the industry. By using patent rights, multinational companies prevednted developing countries like India from realizing their potential of industrial growth and drug prices were among the highest in the world.The book analyses:BL the remarkable growth of the Indian pharmaceutical industry since the early 1970s when product patent protection in pharmaceu ticals was abolishedBL whether the claimed benefits for developing countries, under TRIPS, have materializedBL what can be done, if as apprehended, the prices of patent protected drugs riseBL whether, and to what extent, developing countries have been able to use the provisions and the flexibilities promised under TRIPSThe volume will be of interest not only to academics but also to policymakers, pharma companies, business analysts, students, NGOs, and others interested in the impact of globalization under WTO.